Boneless Leg of Lamb Recipe - Southern Cravings (2024)

FAQs

Does lamb leg get more tender the longer you cook it? ›

The leg and rack of lamb are perfect for herb-crusting and oven-roasting; since the shank and shoulder are a bit tougher, they fare well in stews or braises—the long cook time allows them to significantly break down and become fork-tender.

Whether boneless or bone-in, the perfect leg of lamb should be either oven-roasted until blushing pink on the inside (with an internal temp around 130°F) or roasted long and slow for several hours until the meat is very tender and falls apart to internal temp around 175°F (I often use the slow cooker for that).

Because the bone acts as an insulator, boneless lamb leg cooks faster than bone-in lamb leg, giving you more leeway in terms of hitting the exact doneness you want, but this advantage can be easily mitigated with careful monitoring and a good thermometer.

For the perfect roast lamb, we recommend seasoning the surface of the meat, and then searing it, especially fat side down in a pan before roasting. Why bother with searing? Contrary to some stories, searing is less about locking in moisture, and all about improving the flavour!

All the lamb needs is a sprinkle of salt and pepper, drizzle of olive oil. Add beef broth/stock and water into the pan (keeps everything all nice and moist + makes pan juices for gravy), cover then slow roast for 5 hours until tender and fall apart.

The juices need time to redistribute throughout the meat. Cut too soon and the juices will end up pooling on the cutting board, leaving you with a drier cut of meat. Follow this tip: For a more tender and juicy piece of lamb, allow the meat to rest for at least 15 minutes after removing it from the oven.

Immediately putting this large cut of meat in the oven after removing it from the fridge can lead to uneven cooking and an even longer cooking time. To ensure a leg of lamb cooks evenly, remove it from the fridge and let it sit at room temperature for an hour before cooking.

Place the lamb, fat side up, on a rack set in a roasting pan; spread garlic paste all over lamb. Roast in oven until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the meat registers 135 degrees, for medium rare, about 2 hours.

How long does it take to cook boneless lamb? ›

To calculate cooking times, for medium, cook 25 minutes per 500g, plus 25 minutes and for well done cook 30 minutes per 500g and an extra 30 minutes. Allow to rest before serving. If rolled, remove string.

A leg of lamb makes a wonderful roast. There are two main approaches; either roast it quickly and serve it pink or roast long and slow and serve it falling off the bone. One short leg should feed 5-6 people. If you need to feed 8 select the long leg option and if feeding 3 choose the half leg option.

Washing beef, pork, lamb, or veal before cooking it is not recommended. Bacteria in raw meat and poultry juices can be spread to other foods, utensils, and surfaces. We call this cross-contamination. Some consumers think they are removing bacteria and making their meat or poultry safe.

It can be traditionally roasted but is best slow-roasted, pot-roasted or braised with liquid until practically falling apart. Shoulder can also be diced for stewing, or cut into shoulder chops. A pre-sliced roast is convenient, but it tends to dry out in the oven.

“You don't need to marinate it.” In fact, she said, marinating lamb can actually make it tougher. A marinade is designed to break down the tough fibers in meat, but since lamb is naturally so tender, marinating can destroy the integrity of the meat — the texture and flavor — and make it tough to chew.

Slow cooking in liquid transforms tougher cuts of lamb into fork-tender meat. Neck, shoulder and belly, either diced or as whole joints, are the best cuts for slow cooking and need to be cooked for at least 2 hrs at 150C to soften the meat.

Lower temp = more succulent meat – Tough cuts like lamb shoulder need slow-cooking to tenderise them.

Temperature is by far the most critical aspect of cooking lamb chops. Undercooking even tender lamb chops can render them unpleasantly chewy, while overcooking will lead to tough, dried-out meat. Rib chops should be cooked to about 130°F, while loin chops are better at 135°F or even 140°F.

No matter how well your Lamb is cooked. If you cut it incorrectly, you'll end up with tough, chewy meat — even if you cooked it perfectly! The advice is always to cut the meat across the grain.